Matt Bartkowski says he's not paying attention to trade talk

Tuesday

Jul 15, 2014 at 3:35 PMJul 15, 2014 at 3:43 PM

The defenseman said he is not paying attention to the trade talk centering on the Bruins' surplus of blue liners.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

Matt Bartkowski had a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon to discuss his new one-year contract with the Bruins, and the defenseman said he is not paying attention to the trade talk centering on the Bruins' surplus of blue liners.

“I don’t really pay attention to it,” Bartkowski said. “I mean, [it was a media member] who informed me first that I was almost traded [in 2013] — but like I said, I really don’t pay too much attention to it. There’s no real reason to. I think it’s only just a hindrance to worry about where you’re going to end up and all that. You just prepare for what you can, and the team you’re on, and if something happens, it happens.

"It’s out of our hands, so like I said, there’s really no reason for me to worry about it. I just try to focus on my summer workouts and being as ready as I can for next season."

General manager Peter Chiarelli has said he is looking to shed at least one defenseman before the season begins Oct. 8. With David Warsofsky ready to make the jump to the NHL, the Bruins have nine NHL-level defensemen and need to move at least one, if not two. Training camp could serve as a tryout of sorts for who becomes an attractive trade piece, Bartkowski being one of the options.

Bartkowski, who was a part of the aborted Jarome Iginla deal in March 2013, could be a candidate to be moved as part of a defenseman dump. He signed his new deal for $1.25 million and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

The 26-year-old filed for arbitration earlier this month, but said he did so “just as a protective measure” and had every intention of reaching a settlement before the July 30 arbitration hearing.

A late bloomer, Bartkowski’s first full season in the NHL was an up-and-down one. He played well in the middle of the season, but struggled in the postseason. The defenseman is full into his summer workouts now and will begin skating next month, with the hope of coming to training camp and being a more consistent player.

“I think last year was a good step, and like you said, being able to show people that, but I think going forward, the main thing would be just consistency,” Bartkowski said. “Along the way, I’d have a stretch of games and then maybe a mix-up here or there, which I think is going to happen to maybe not every player, but every younger player in his career. If I can work on the consistency — if you can show you can play every night — then anybody should have a long career doing that.

“So I think just being able to prove that I could do it, and hopefully make some more strides and just be 100 percent consistent, is the ultimate goal.”